The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced that it is making $30,370,597 available to fair housing organizations across the nation working to fight housing discrimination to support a variety of activities, including fair housing education and outreach, testing and enforcement, through the Department’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) [1].
Each year, HUD makes funding available to support organizations that enforce the nation’s fair housing laws and policies, as well as educate the public, housing providers, and local governments about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act [2].
The categories of grants being made available by HUD include:
- Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI) [3]–$9,466,347: EOI grants provide funds to eligible organizations to develop, implement, execute and coordinate education, and outreach programs designed to inform members of the public concerning their rights and obligations under the provisions of the Fair Housing Act.
- Education and Outreach Initiative–Test Coordinator Training (EOI-TCT) [4]–$500,000: EOI-TCT grants provide funds to eligible organizations to support fair housing training courses in fair housing testing. Read the Notice of Funding Opportunities.
- Fair Housing Organizations Initiative (FHOI) [5]–$3,700,000: FHOI grants provide funds to eligible organizations to build their capacity and effectiveness to conduct fair housing enforcement related activities or to establish and support new organizations to engage in fair housing work, particularly in unserved and underserved jurisdictions.
- Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI) [6]–$16,704,250: PEI grants provide funds to eligible organizations to conduct testing, investigate violations and obtain enforcement of the rights granted under the Fair Housing Act or substantially equivalent state or local laws.
People who believe they have experienced discrimination may file a complaint by contacting HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (Relay). Housing discrimination complaints may also be filed by going to http://www.hud.gov/fairhousing [7].
HUD recently joined seven other agencies [8]—including the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Labor, Treasury, and Transportation—to clarify in writing that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits antisemitism, Islamophobia, and related forms of discrimination. In addition to shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, religion is also a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, which HUD will continue to enforce. This latest announcement from HUD is another step of forward progress of the Biden Administration’s U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism [9], released in May 2023.